Preparing to Sell Your Home: Improvements Sell Houses

Are you having trouble selling your home? A lack of offers to purchase may be caused by a number of seemingly innocent factors. Some of the most frequent comments overheard by residential real estate sales professionals reveal problems that are relatively quick and inexpensive to fix.

“It’s dark in this room.”

The best way to improve the look and feel of a room is with a fresh coat of paint. Spend an afternoon brightening up a dull or drab room by applying a bright, new color on the walls.

When preparing to show the home to potential buyers, be sure to open up the curtains or blinds, allowing the maximum amount of natural light to enter the space. Heavy, light-blocking draperies should be removed and replaced with something more airy and neutral.

“The house has a strange smell.”

As a resident of your home on a daily basis, you may not notice an uninviting smell when you enter the house. This can especially be true if smokers are living in the home. Relying on the honest opinion of friends, family and other visitors to your home is a good way to determine whether an unappealing smell is turning off buyers. There are inexpensive and time-effective ways to bring a fresh scent to an otherwise musty or unpleasant-smelling space. These include steam-cleaning the carpets and window treatments, thoroughly dusting all of the furniture (especially those often neglected and hard-to-reach places), and airing out the house by allowing windows to stand open.

“This room is small.”

De-cluttering is the very best way to enhance the amount of space in the house. Eliminate all clutter from the rooms by packing away seldom-used or bulky items. Allow the most possible floor space to be exposed by picking up baskets, bins and boxes from the floor. Store them neatly in a garage, basement, or rented storage unit.

It may also be necessary to remove extra pieces of furniture. A master bedroom, for example, should never contain more than a bed, dresser and bedside table(s). Additional pieces of furniture clutter the room and make the space look small.

“The house needs a lot of work.”

Today’s buyer is more educated and pays more attention to detail than ever before. Adequate attention should be paid to minor fix-up jobs around the house before showing it to potential buyers. Fill any holes in the walls and touch up the paint. Be certain that the trim is in good condition, and is freshly painted, if possible.

Out front, ensure the maximum amount of curb appeal by trimming overgrown shrubs and trees, mowing the lawn, and pulling any unsightly weeds. Add a punch of color by planting pretty annual flowers.

“I can’t imagine us living here.”

While most vendors need to remain living in the house while trying to sell it, removing personal items such as family portraits, toys, school awards and personal artwork allows potential buyers to imagine living in the space. The seller needs to create a neutral atmosphere that sells the lifestyle that will be enjoyed by purchasing and moving into the house.

If you are experiencing difficulty selling your home, take some time to evaluate whether a buyer will find these flaws in your house. Attending to them as quickly as possible will ensure you receive the most return in the purchase price for a quick sale.

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